The invention relates to a transfer arrangement for transferring articles.
Such a transfer arrangement is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,876,107 B2. In the case of the known transfer arrangement, transfer elements are arranged on a closed transporting path of the transfer arrangement, and these transfer elements can be moved individually by means of individually energizable coil elements, arranged on the transporting path, by the coil elements interacting with permanent-magnet elements which are in operative connection on the transfer elements. In the case of an exemplary embodiment which is illustrated in FIG. 5 of the aforementioned document, a first conveying arrangement feeds articles to the transfer arrangement, wherein the first conveying arrangement, in the transfer region of the articles from the first conveying arrangement to the transfer elements of the transfer arrangement, is oriented perpendicularly to the movement direction of the transfer elements. Once the articles have been transferred to the transfer arrangement, the respective transfer element transports the article in order to be transferred to a second conveying arrangement at another location of the transporting path, from where the articles are discharged into the second conveying arrangement. It is also mentioned, in the known document, that the transfer elements are moved preferably in accordance with a mathematical function based on a seventh-order polynomial.
A critical factor in the case of the transfer system known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,876,107 B2 is that, in order for the articles to be received into the transfer arrangement from the first conveying arrangement by the transfer element, it is necessary, as a result of the first conveying arrangement being situated vertically in the transfer region, for the transfer element to be accelerated out of a standstill position, or out of a standby position, in order to avoid damage to the articles. This limits the output of the known transfer arrangement. Furthermore, in the case of the known document, the first conveying arrangement terminates in a plane above the transporting route of the transfer arrangement and the articles pass into the region of the transfer element by being expelled from the first conveying arrangement. Such handling of the articles, if the latter are sensitive, is likewise not possible.